VAT on private schools, phone ban, breakfast clubs: What are politicians promising on education?

ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker looks at Labour's plans for education, sitting down with Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.

Words by Maya Bowles, Westminster Producer

This election campaign has seen fierce discussions around tax, the economy, immigration and the NHS, but there's one issue that hasn't had as much attention - education.

Aside from Labour's controversial plan to scrap the VAT exemption for private schools, not much of the political debate has focused on what the different parties are promising to do for schools, early years, and universities.

One teachers union says there's a "range of systemic crises in education", from crumbling buildings, to a shortgae of teachers, and poor provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

But how are the different parties promising to tackle this crisis? ITV News explains...

Labour

With Labour more than 20 points ahead in the opinion polls, it's looking increasingly likely that they will be the ones making decisions about education policy in a weeks' time.

Here are some of the things they've committed to if they're elected:

  • End the VAT exemption on private schools to fund 6,500 new teachers in state schools

  • Universal free breakfast clubs in every primary school

  • Create an extra 100,000 nursery places using spare classrooms in schools

  • Scrap single word Ofsted judgements

  • Guarantee two weeks work experience for every young person

  • Bring in supervised tooth-brushing for 3-5 year-olds

  • Introduce a child poverty strategy

Reacting Labour's manifesto, education think tank the Education Policy Institute welcomed that the party are looking to "tackle more of the immediate challenges facing the system", but said "there are still key omissions particularly around school and college funding".

Labour have also failed to commit to giving teachers a pay rise in order to retain and attract more staff.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson told ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker Labour would look at teachers' pay "as an urgent day one priority", but refused to say whether she would grant them an increase.

Phillipson said Labour "will deliver education, education, education" for a new generation, making it "front and centre of national life once more".

Conservatives

Labour accuse the Conservatives of inflicting "chronic mismanagement" on the education system, but the government say they have a "strong record of driving up schools standards".

Rishi Sunak regularly references how under the Conservatives "English children are the best primary age readers in the Western world".

So what do the Conservatives say they'll do on education if re-elected?

  • Maintain school spending in real terms

  • Ban the use of mobile phones during the school day

  • Stop schools teaching about gender identity, requiring them to follow government guidance on supporting gender questioning students.

  • Ban protests outside schools

  • Create 100,000 new apprenticeships

  • Make every child study maths and English in some form until 18

  • End so-called "Mickey Mouse degrees" - meaning poorly performing university courses

The Education Policy Institute say many of the Conservative's promises on education "are largely unnecessary distractions and unlikely to have any real impact on improving outcomes or tackling inequalities".

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But the Tories insist they have "developed a clear plan for improving education for people at every stage of their lives".

"This ranges from helping families with childcare to making sure young people get the skills they need to get good jobs," the party adds.

Liberal Democrats

The Lib Dems have pledged to:

  • Increase school funding per-pupil above the rate of inflation every year

  • Invest in new school buildings and clear the backlog of repairs

  • Five more free hours a week of early years childcare for three and four year-olds

  • Offer adults a £5,000 lifelong skills grant

  • End single word Ofsted judgements

  • Extend free school meals to all children in poverty

  • Set up a new “National Body for SEND” to fund support for children with very high needs

Green Party

The Greens say they will:

  • Increase school funding by a total of £8bn, including £2 billion for a pay rise for teachers

  • Invest £2.5m a year to tackle RAAC concrete

  • Scrap university tuition fees and restore maintenance grants

  • Give all children a daily free school meal

  • Abolish Ofsted

  • Change the curriculum to boost arts, creative subjects and outdoor play

What do education providers say are the main issues they face?

School funding

Schools say they're suffering from a funding crisis, struggling to pay basic things like classroom materials, staff costs, and building repairs.

While per-pupil funding has increased slowly in the last few years, it remains below 2010 levels in real terms.

School leaders also say their costs are rising sharply - a survey by the NAHT earlier this year revealed only 1% of schools said they had enough funding to fully meet the needs of all their pupils.

On top of this, the number of children in our schools is declining because of falling birth rates, which could see schools lose more than £1bn in funding by 2030, according to the EPI.

Because of this, many schools face significant staffing cuts and even potential closure.

"Students deserve better", says headteacher at Wales Primary School in Rotherham

Teacher shortages

Record numbers of teachers quit the profession last year, with almost 9% of the workforce leaving.

That amounts to 40,000 teachers, with many citing workload and pay as the reasons they quit.

Pay is a huge issue for teachers - the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says teachers' pay fell by 9% between 2010 and 2023.

Last summer the government gave public sector workers including teachers a pay award of 6.5%, but that still left pay behind where it was in 2010.

The government received recommendations on teachers' pay from the independent pay review body in May, but has not published what they suggested.

Labour won't commit to increasing teachers' pay if elected.

Crumbling buildings

One of the most critical things schools are struggling to pay for is building repair.

The RAAC concrete scandal last summer saw the government temporarily close 150 schools, and many schools still have RAAC concrete, along with buildings that are generally in disrepair.

The NAHT found that more than 4 in 5 school leaders say they lack the funding needed to maintain there school buildings, with 6 in 10 dissatisfied with the state of their buildings.

SEND

The number of students with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) has risen by 5% since 2022, with SEND provision being particularly stretched by tightening budgets.

Many schools have had to cut support staff or reduce their hours, leading to less individual support for SEND children.

The EPI think tank say SEND support is the "most pressing" school funding issue, highlighting that the current provision has "struggled to meet needs".

Funding for pupils in special schools has been frozen since 2013, while inflation has risen steeply.

The Conservatives say they will deliver 60,0000 more school places and new free schools for children with SEND.

Labour have promised to improve inclusivity for SEND pupils in mainstream schools.

Early years funding

Early years providers are also experiencing a funding and recruitment crisis.

The government have begun to rollout their free childcare scheme, which allows eligible families of children as young as nine months old in England to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week by September 2025 .

Previously, only working parents with children aged three and four were eligible for 30 free hours of childcare.

But providers say they don't have the spaces or staff to deliver these new funded hours, while parents have raised concerns the scheme isn't saving them as much money as the government promised.

Labour have committed to keeping the free childcare plan, but they're also carrying out a review of childcare led by former senior Ofsted figure Sir David Bell.

Universities

The higher education sector is also suffering from financial problems - the Office for Students warned last month that 40% of universities face budget deficits.

The losses are partly because tuition fees have been capped at £9,250 per year – they haven’t risen in line with inflation so they’re worth what would have been £6,000 ten years ago.

This means many universities are relying on higher fees from international students. But the government recently put restrictions on student visas by stopping international students bringing dependents with them.

Just before Mr Sunak called the election, there was an internal row in his cabinet over further restrictions to student visas.

The PM had been considering restricting or even scrapping the graduate visa route which allows students to work in the UK for up to two years, but members of his cabinet shot the idea down.

Labour say they will create a "secure future" for higher education, but have given very little detail on what they will do about funding in the sector.

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